Air relief device



March 31, 19 53 w. J. WOOLLEY AIR RELIEF DEVICE Filed Dec. 15, 1949 fllllllllllllllllllll l l I I I L INV-INTOR. Zz /zam J Patented Mar. 31, 1953 AIR RELIEF DEVICE William J. Woolley, Chicago, 111., assignor to .';.Ma;id --Mist, ;Inc., a: corporation oflllinois .App'lication'December 15, 1 949, Serial'No'. 133,104

- 3 Claims. (Cl. 13'-7-.-202) .My invention relatesgenerally to air relief devices, and more particularly to'improvements in 'ffloat operated air relief devices. similar to those disclosedlin my prior United States Letters Patent Nos."2,106,'5'123and' 2,276,136, issued January 25, 193,8, and March .1942, respectively.

A principal object ofmy invention'is to provide a" device of improved, simplified construction for automatically venting air from any desired type of. liquid containing system, in which the Outer casing of the device is of. one piece construction, rather than consisting of a casing; a cover therefor, anda union securing said cover to said casing,

as has heretofore been the practice.

.Another important object of my invention is toyprovidea novel connection in a device of the typeldescribed, betweenavalve unitand a float for controlling the operation of said valve'unit, in which'the valve unit can be removed from the "device for replacement or service, even though the casing is of one piece construction and the valve unit is positively connected to the float at an times when the device is in operation.

Yet another important object of my invention isthe provision of avalve unit for use with devices of the character described, which includes novel guide means whereby the motion of the valve relative to the valve seat is controlled tomake the device more positive and dependable :in operation.

'A further important object'of the invention is the, provision of an improved connection between" the casing and the liquid containing system, whereby-the float within the casing follows accurately the rise and fall of liquid in said system, said connection providing for elimination .ofthe efiectsof entrapped air within the casing and surface tension of the liquid, which otherwise may cause a lag between the level of liquid within the casing and that of the system.

'The'foregoing and such other objects, advantages and capabilities as are disclosed as this description proceeds, or which. are inherent in my invention, areillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

.Eigurel is a vertical central section of an air relief device embodying the features of the present invention, the valve mechanism being shown in'ftheclosed'position;

'Fig'ureLZis a fragmentary vertica1 central sec- "tion of 'the'device of Figure 1,.showingthe valve .mechanism inthe open position;

l'iFigure'. 3 is a plan 'view taken in section on the .illne" 3 3 'oiTiEigure 1; I

J Figure4isafragmentary.elevational'view taken 7 section orithe line 4-4 ofFigure 1; and

Figure 5;:is1an enlarged- :elevational view of the valve unit; taken in section on the line5-5-:of

Figure 2.

"Like reference: characters.designatelike parts in the drawingand in the description of :the invention which follows.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly Figurell thereof, myair'relief device is shown asiricluding a. substantially tubular casing ill to which a'bonnet H :is permanently secured, as for example by soldering "l2. .A substantially 'U-shape'd bracket [3 is secured to the interior surface of the bonnet II, and serves as a bearing support for the pin 14' about which the lever l5 turns. The other end of thelever l5'is secured'by' the pin 16 to an arm [1 extending from thefioat l8. A valve unit, designated generally by thei'numer'al l9, extends through the bonnet and the bracket [3, and is drivably ccnnected'to the'lever [5. The lower end "of the casing 1 His provided with athreaded pipe fitting '20 whereby'theicasing 10 may be coupled to a comprises a threaded casing 28 having a circumferential flange 29 which seats against the bracket 13. The bore 30 of the casing -28 is threadedat 3| to receive .the hollow nut 32, said nut 32-being provided witha guide portion 33 whereby the nut 32 may be turned for adjusting its position along the bore 30, for a purpose which is described fully below. A valvesleeve 34 is supported at its upper end portion by the hollow nut 32" and extends into the interior of the casing to. The valve sleeve 34 includesa pair of flanges 35 and 36 between'which is retained'a packing on the upper end of the valve stem 38, together with the guide portion '33 of the nut 32; acts as a-stop limiting the'downwardmovement oi the "valvestem "38. Thelower end of the valverstem "38 is provided "with 'a shoulder portion. 42 ?which is insertable through the enlarged portion-43: of

the spring 39 (Figure 2).

the aperture 44 in the lever I5 (Figure 3), but which is drivably connected to said lever I5 when positioned in the slot 45 of said aperture 44. As is shown in Figures 1 and 3, substantially all of the aperture 44 lies in a concavity 52 in the lever I5. Referring again to Figure 5, the valve stem 38 is also provided with a cup shaped sleeve 46 which is secured to the stem 38 by the neck portion 53. The concave side of the sleeve 46 retains and supports a packing member 41 which may for example be a neoprene washer. The packing member 41 faces the valve seat 49 comprising the lower end of the valve sleeve 34, and is adapted for movement against said valve seat 49. Also secured to the valve stem 38 is a tapered guide member 48, which insures a positive and accurate seating between the packing member 41 and the valve seat 49. The guide member 48 is preferably secured to the valve stem 38 in fsuch fashion as to'press downwardly upon the packing member 41, to insure a hermetical seal between said member 41 and the valve stem 38.

As is shown in Figures 1 and 2, a cap 58 having a washer 5I therein. may be screwed down upon the upper end of the casing 28, for a purpose described more fully below.

To use my air relief device, it is first connected to the liquid containing system, which for example may be a hot water radiator, expansion tank, gasoline storage tank, or the like, and the cap 50 screwed down tightly upon the casing 28. Thus the device is substantially hermetically sealed even though the valve unit I9 is held in the open position by the weight of the float I8. The system is then filled, and the cap 58 backed off sufficiently to permit air and gas to vent from the system at a slow rate. Otherwise liquid rushes into the casing I0, and may clog the valve seat 49 and sleeve 34 with dirt and scale. As the rising liquid causes the float I8 to rise within the 'casing I to the position shown in Figure 1, the spring 39 closes the packing member 41 against the valve seat 49, thereby closing the valve unit As the device continues in operation, air and/or gas accumulate within the casing I0, causing the level of the liquid therein to fall, whereupon the float I8 moves downwardly. As the float I8 displaces downwardly, the lever I pivots about the pin I4, and forces the valve stem 38 downwardly against the resistance of This opens the valve unit I9 and vents the air or gas within the easing II) to the atmosphere, thereby permitting the level of liquid to once again rise in the casing II) to the position shown in Figure 1. This cycle of operation is repeated indefinitely, to maintain the system free from objectionable air and gas.

If desired, the point at which the valve unit I9 opens to vent the air may be selectively varied in accordance with the amount of air entrapped therein, by adjusting the position of the hollow nut 32 along the threaded portion 3I of the casing 28. Thus, when the valve sleeve 34 is moved downwardly, the packing member 41 un- -'ing follows accurately the level of liquid in the :b'alance of the system. :member 2| were not used, there would be a tend- If the tongue-shaped .ency as air or gas accumulatesin the casing. I0,

4 for the falling level of liquid within said casing to lag somewhat the level of the liquid in the balance of the system. This is especially noticeable when the system is drained, since the flow of liquid through the opening 22 is sluggish and may cease entirely due to the reduced pressure of the air or gas in the upper portion of the casing Ill. The member 2I eliminates this undesirable characteristic of the prior art devices, the legs 23 and 24 counteracting the effects of surface tension and providing drain surfaces down which substantially all the liquid flows, while the space between said legs 23 and 24 serves as a passageway up which air and gas can flow. The tab 21 acts to deflect the downward flow of liquid and to make said flow more turbulent. As the downward flowing liquid strikes the tab 21, the member 2| is thereby caused to swing and vibrate, thus making the action of the member 2| even more effective.

Another special operating feature of the device results from the provision of the concavity 52 in the lever I5. I have discovered that the concavity 52 provides a far greater bearing surface between the enlarged portion 42 of the valve stem 38, and the lever I5, than the straight surfaced levers of the prior art constructions. At the same time, the force transmitted by the lever I5 to the enlarged portion 42, as the float I8 moves downwardly, is more nearly axial to the bore 38 of the casing 28, so that the valve stem 33 is pulled straight downwardly, rather than t one side. This substantially eliminates binding of the valve stem 38 on the valve sleeve 34, and makes operation of the entire valve unit I9 smoother and more accurate. In addition, the tapered guide member 48, best shown in Figure 5, insures that the packing member 41 is concentrically seated against the valve seat 49 each time the valve unit I9 is actuated. ,A positive seal between the member 41 and the valve seat 49 is thus obtained whenever the valve unit I9 is in the closed position of Figure 1. And because the packing member 41 is hermetically sealed against the stem 38, leakage between the neck portion 53 and the stem 38 is not critical.

By permanently securing the bonnet II to the casing I 0, in the manner shown, the manufacture of the device is greatly simplified and the cost thereof reduced appreciably. While the float I8 and. the supporting mechanism therefore are sealed within the casing ID, the operating parts of the valve unit I9 may still be serviced or replaced, notwithstanding the positive connection between the valve stem 38 and the lever I5. This feature results from the configuration of the aperture 44, wherein the enlarged portion 43 is placed on that end of the slot 45 distant from the pin I4. Thus, to remove the valve sleeve 34, the device is first uncoupled from the system, and turned upside down. The weight of the float I8 causes the lever I5 to swing toward the bonnet II, and as the lever I5 moves past its normal operating limits, the enlarged portion 43 0f the aperture 44 becomes aligned with the shoulder portion 42 of the valve stem 38. The valve sleeve 34 may then be readily removed by unscrewing the hollow nut 32. Advantageously, the configu ration of the lower end of the member 2I prevents said member from falling intothe. casing I0 upon turning the device upside down.

. It will thus be apparent that I have perfected an air relief device of improved construction, which is ,simple in design, relatively cheapl'to manufacture and'in which the working parts of the valve mechanism are readily removed for replacement or repair, and which in addition are adjustable to vary the point at which the valve is open to vent the air and gas in accordance with the amount of air and gas entrapped within the device. While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that said embodiment has been given by way of example only and that various changes and rearrangements of the details shown and described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An automatic air relief device, comprising a substantially cylindrical casing, a bonnet permanently fastened toone end of said casing, means at theother end of said casing for connecting said casing to a liquid containing system, a float disposed interiorly of said casing, a bracket secured to the interior surface of said bonnet. a link and a pin pivotally securing one end of said link to said bracket, the other end of said link pivotally secured to said float, said link having an aperture positioned along the length thereof and consisting of a narrow slot portion proximate said pivot pin and an enlarged portion at that end of said slot portion spaced from said pin, substantially all of said slot of said aperture disposed in an upwardly concave surface of said link, an adjustable, vertically disposed valve sleeve mounted in and extending through said bonnet adjacent to said bracket, a valve stem in said valve sleeve having an enlarged shoulder portion in said casing, said valve stem normally being in alignment with the slot portion of said aperture in said link, said shoulder portion of said valve stem insertable through said enlarged portion of said aperture, whereby said valve stem may be connected to said link by positioning said link outside of its normal operating displacement and adjacent to said bonnet and inserting said head portion of said valve stem through said enlarged portion of said aperture, said head portion engaging said narrow slot portion of said aperture upon returning said link to its normal operating position.

2. In an automatic air relief device including a casing, means for connecting said casing to a liquid containing system, a float disposed interiorly of said casing, and a vertically disposed, removable valve unit having an adjustable valve member mounted in and extending through the top wall of said casing, said valve member including a valve stem having a shoulder portion in the interior of said casing, means removably connecting said float to said valve stem, said means comprising: a link, means connecting one end of said link to said float, pivot means connecting the other end of said link to said casing so that said link is beneath said valve member, said link having an aperture therein consisting of a narrow slot portion disposed substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said pivot means and an enlarged portion at that end of said slot portion furthest removed from said pivot means, said aperture positioned so that said shoulder portion of said valve stem may be inserted through said enlarged portion when said link is displaced outside of its normal operating range and adjacent to said top wall, said narrow slot portion engaging said shoulder portion during normal operation of said device, during which normal operation downward movement of said float opens said valve unit to vent the interior of said casing to the atmosphere.

3. In an automatic air relief device including a casing, means for connecting said casing to a liquid containing system, a float disposed interiorly of said casing, and a removable valve unit extending through said casing, said Valve unit including a valve stem having a shoulder portion in the interior of said casing, means removably connecting said float to said valve stem, said connecting means comprising: a link, means connecting one end of said link to said float, pivot means connecting the other end of said link to said casing so that a portion of said link is in alignment with said valve stem, said portion of said link having a slot therein the width of which is narrower than the width of said shoulder portion, said portion of said link also having an enlarged opening at that end of said slot furthest removed from said pivot means, said enlarged portion positioned so that said shoulder portion of said valve stem may be inserted therethrough when said link is displaced outside of its normal operating range toward said valve unit, said slot engaging said shoulder portion during normal operation of said device, during which normal operation downward movement of said float opens said valve unit to vent the interior of said casing to the atmosphere.

WILLIAM J. WOOLLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,228,984 Broeoker Jan. 14, 1941 2,276,136 Woolley Mar. 10, 1942 2,368,712 Jehle et a1. Feb. 6, 1945 

